Berkeley’s music is
now fairly well-known and unanimously
appreciated for its many qualities.
His operas however have fared less well,
with the possible exception of the comic
chamber opera A Dinner Engagement
Op.45 (now available on Chandos
CHAN 10219 and which I have still to
hear).
Berkeley’s second chamber
opera Ruth Op.50, written
for the English Opera Group, is a more
serious affair than its predecessor.
It is in three scenes, each falling
into several sections. Eric Crozier’s
libretto is based on the biblical story
of Ruth, and has a typical Britten-ish
character, i.e. an outsider ("The
Moabite") confronted by a hostile
environment, although with a quite different
approach than might have been encountered
in a Britten opera. Even if it may seem
somewhat contrived, the happy ending
in Berkeley’s opera (although it implies
some sort of sacrifice) is something
almost unimaginable in a Britten opera.
The possible exception lies in his church
parables for much the same reasons.
In Scene 1, Naomi returns
to Bethlehem with her daughters-in-law
Ruth and Orpah. The happiness at seeing
Bethlehem’s hills again is marred by
anxiety ("But, ah, who will remember
me"). Naomi encourages Ruth and
Orpah to leave her and to return to
their homeland; and in her first aria
("Almighty Father, let my cry come
unto thee!"), she recalls her earlier
hardships, the death of her husband
and of her two sons. Orpah is at first
undecided, and finally bids Naomi farewell.
On the other hand, Ruth decides to stay
with Naomi ("Wither thou goest,
I will go"). On their way to the
city, they come across women who hardly
recognise Naomi. In her next aria ("Ah,
call me not Naomi, let Mara [bitter]
be my name"), Naomi reluctantly
accepts her present fate. The women
lead Naomi and Ruth away to the city.
Scene 2 opens with
the Reapers’ song and the Women join
in. It is abruptly cut short by the
arrival of Naomi and Ruth. The people’s
reaction is to reject them ("Why
should we feed our enemy?"), thus
in complete contradiction to the humane,
generous words of their song ("[they]
serve as food to bless the poor, the
widow in distress, the hungry orphan,
and the fatherless"). The Head
Reaper’s kind words are not enough to
calm the fury of the reapers and the
Women. Boaz, however, manages to calm
them, although reapers and women find
his words hard to accept. Boaz sends
his people back to work. There follows
a splendid trio (Ruth, Boaz and Head
Reaper). Ruth pleads for mercifulness
on the part of Boaz. Scene 2 ends with
a duo between Ruth and Boaz, and with
the Men’s and Women’s renewed song.
In Scene 3, Naomi and
Ruth enter onto a threshing-floor where
the harvest celebrations are to take
place. Naomi assures Ruth that she shall
find happiness with Boaz, but Ruth still
has doubts. Men and women are heard
approaching singing their harvest song,
further leading into their general dance
climaxing in Boaz’s solemn prayer. After
the people have left, Ruth approaches
Boaz and asks him to spread his cloth
upon her, so that she may become his
wife. At first taken by surprise, Boaz
spreads his cloth upon Ruth. They declare
their love for each other. After receiving
Naomi’s blessing, Boaz summons his people
and presents his new wife to them. The
third scene - and the opera - ends with
a rousing song of praise.
Now, the question is
to decide whether Ruth succeeds
or fails as an opera. The answer is,
I think, twofold. On purely musical
grounds, the score is an unqualified
success. It contains some of the finest
music that Berkeley ever penned. Arias
and ensembles are all nicely judged
and superbly made; and he works wonders
with the small orchestral forces at
his disposal. On dramatic grounds, however,
the lack of any real action might make
a production less successful. In some
respects, Ruth is an opera,
in much the same way as Vaughan Williams’
The Pilgrim’s Progress,
although I believe that it calls for
considerable imagination on the director’s
part to have it properly staged. The
quality of the music is beyond doubt.
In his indispensable
book (The Music of Lennox Berkeley,
The Boydell Press, 1988, second, revised
edition 2003), Peter Dickinson concludes
his chapter on A Dinner Engagement
and Ruth by writing that
"finally the verdict remains open
in the absence of evidence through productions
and recordings". Now, at long last,
we are in a much better position to
assess or re-assess Berkeley’s operas.
Would it be too much, now, to expect
a recording of Castaway
and, who know, Nelson
in the near future?
Richard Hickox and
the present cast undoubtedly give a
most convincing rendering of one of
Berkeley’s finest scores, which is by
far the most important thing to expect
from an opera recording. An important
release, and definitely not to be missed.
Hubert Culot
An important release,
and definitely not to be missed. ...
see Full Review
Joyful Company of Singers 
